Caring for a Raven
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: During summer after his fifth year Harry rescues an ill and injured raven and nurses him back to health. What happens if he gets to know the raven's identity? AU, partly OOC, abuse!Dursleys, sick!Severus, sick!Harry
1. Chapter 1

**Caring for a Raven**

**Chapter 1**

Severus groaned as he dragged himself to the fireplace, the steam from the Pepperup potion he had just downed still coming out of his ears. '_If Albus insists we continue taking turns every twelve hours to watch over the Dursleys' house and garden in that everlasting rain, he won't have to be surprised if the whole Order will be sick in bed in a few days' time_,' he thought in absolute annoyance as he stepped into the fireplace, shouting, "Arabella Figg's place."

'_The Pepperup only worked so much_,' he mused as he placed the invisibility charm on himself, which would only allow fellow members of the order to see him, and walked towards the Dursleys' garden, where Minerva was sitting on a small stone wall in her cat's form, sighing in relief as he approached her.

"Thank God, Severus, I'm freezing," she said, turning back into her human form.

"Good evening, Minerva." He pulled a phial of Pepperup out of his robe pocket, handing it to his colleague. "Here, drink this. Maybe it'll prevent you from catching a cold, although it didn't help me much."

"Thank you, Severus," Minerva said, gulping down the potion. Only looking closely at his face as she returned the phial, she let out a gasp. "Severus, you look worse for wear. What's wrong? Are you sure you only have a cold?"

"I don't know, Minerva, but I'm going to transform into my raven form and spend the next twelve hours in the tree. Go home, before you're completely drenched. I hope Mungundus will come in time tomorrow morning." With that, he transformed, and his colleague watched him fly up into the tree, before she hurried back to Mrs. Figg's house.

'_This is more like the flu than a cold_,' Severus mused, noticing that he felt worse by the hour, even in his raven form. By the time it became light, he was shivering from the cold and could hardly keep himself upright anymore. '_I hope Mungundus comes soon, so I can return to Hogwarts and spend the day in bed_.'

However, nobody came to replace him, and by the time Harry came out of the backdoor to work in the garden, Severus felt absolutely miserable and dizzy. '_I better change my position and sit on a lower branch in case I can't help myself upright anymore and fall off the tree_,' he decided and weakly took off, flying down to a lower branch. Unfortunately, the dizziness caused him to fail landing on the branch, and he tumbled down to the ground, wearily noticing a sharp pain in his left wing and his head, before he lost consciousness.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

From the corner of his eyes, Harry noticed a sudden movement under the tree and looked up from the flowerbed he was just weeding. '_What was that?_' he mused, taking a few steps towards the tree, when he noticed the raven lying on the grass. '_Oh no! He seems to have a broken wing_,' he realised and carefully picked the bird up. '_I'll take him into my room and try to heal him with potions_,' he decided. Knowing that he always received various injuries during the summer holidays, this year he had brought several kinds of potions with him, which he had brewed during the last school year with Hermione's help.

He gently carried the unconscious bird into his room and carefully bathed its injured wing in a small bowl of Murtlap essence, before he wrapped it in gauze he quickly fetched from the bathroom, hoping the wing would heal properly. '_His feet are very hot; he probably has a fever_,' Harry mused and took a few drops of fever reducing potion on his small finger, before he carefully slid his finger into the raven's slightly open beak, repeating the process with a pain relieving potion.

"Rest well, birdie. You can make yourself comfortable in Hedwig's cage. I left her with Ron this summer, so my uncle can't hurt her," he told the raven as he gently made a comfortable bed for it in his familiar's cage.

Glad that his aunt had taken Dudley to London for a shopping trip today, Harry hurried to the kitchen to fetch fresh water and an apple, which he cut into small pieces, to provide a little food for his plumed patient. Making sure the bird was comfortable enough, Harry headed for the garden to continue with his work, knowing everything had to be finished in time for his uncle to come back in the evening.

After a few hours of gardening in the pouring rain, Harry stepped inside to check on the raven, noticing by its different breathing that it merely seemed to be asleep and not unconscious anymore. '_Well, if he's asleep, he won't miss me_,' he mused, knowing he had to work outside for a few more hours.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Severus lazily opened his eyes, realising that he felt worse than he could remember having felt before if not after a Death Eater meeting. '_Oh right, I'm still in my raven form_,' he realised as he glanced to his injured wing, noticing that it didn't hurt as much as after his fall and that someone had gently wrapped it in gauze. '_I can smell Murtlap_,' he mused. '_Someone must have bathed my wing in Murtlap and then wrapped it. What happened? Can Potter have found me and helped me? No_,' he dismissed the thought immediately. '_Potter wouldn't bother rescuing a raven, nor would he know about Essence of Murtlap. Would Petunia know such things? Lily was extremely gifted at Potions. Maybe she taught her sister as much_.'

Severus curiously glanced around, seeing that he found himself in an owl's cage in a small bed room, which, according to the magical school books lying on the small desk, had to belong to a wizard. '_Maybe it's the Dursleys' storage room_,' he thought. '_Potter won't be living in such a hole. It's strange though; the room has a cat flap and bars in front of the window_.'

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Harry entered the room. The boy was completely drenched, but instead of drying himself or changing his clothes he came over to the cage right away.

"Oh, you're awake! That's a good sign. Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you. I will take you out and check on you. You'll probably need a few more potions," he explained gently, before he carefully extended his right hand into the cage, holding the index finger invitingly in front of the raven's feet.

Severus hesitantly stepped on the boy's finger. '_Such a dunderhead; he needs to get out of his wet clothes first_.'

Harry carefully carried the bird back to his desk. "Your feet are still very hot, so I think you're running quite a fever. Let me carefully take the gauze off, so I can bathe your wing in Murtlap again," he said thoughtfully, glad when the raven didn't protest but seemed to relax in his gentle grip.

'_Thanks for the Murtlap. That's probably the best idea you ever had. Pity I can't give points to Gryffindor_,' Severus mused, sighing in relief as the Murtlap essence felt soothing to his broken wing. '_It'll take at least a week, before my wing will be healed enough so I'll be able to transform back_.'

Twenty minutes later, Harry decided it was enough and gently wrapped the wing, noticing that the raven kept quiet but was slightly shivering and seemed to have a cold. His nose was running, and he made sounds as if he was coughing.

"I'm not sure if Pepperup potion works for birds, so we'll stick to the pain relieving potion and fever reducer for the moment," he told the bird and once more took a little of each potion on his small finger, carefully sliding it into the raven's beak, causing the raven to shudder at the foul taste.

'_You could just give it to me on a spoon, you know_,' Severus thought, feeling slightly annoyed with the boy, even if he was grateful for his help, knowing that he wouldn't be able to help himself in his raven form.

"I know it doesn't taste well, but I hope it'll work," Harry said soothingly, noticing that the bird's feet cooled down a little. He gently stroked the bird's head feathers for a moment, before he carefully placed him back into the cage. "I'm sorry, birdie, but I have to go back into the garden. If I don't finish my work, my uncle will be so angry. I'm going to cover your cage with a cloth, and please be quiet. My relatives can't know you're here."

Severus drifted off into a light slumber, only waking up again by the angry voice of a man.

"What have you been doing the whole day, you lazy freak?" Vernon roared, and Severus could hear a sound as if the man was swinging something through the air.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon, please, I'll be good. I'll finish everything tomorrow," Harry replied in a hunted voice.

Severus listened for a while as Harry was begging his uncle to leave him in peace, but eventually ending up getting a few slaps with what Severus assumed was a belt. Finally, he heard the door being closed accompanied by the sound of at least a dozen locks being locked.

'_Am I delirious_?' Severus mused, just when Harry stepped over to the cage, taking the dark blue cloth off, which had kept him from watching the scene only his ears had been witnessing.

"Sorry for that, birdie. That was my uncle," Harry apologized, biting on his lower lip in order not to cry out at the pain the belt had caused his back. "Let me check on you once more."

'_Who are you and what did you do to Potter_?' Severus mused as he automatically accepted the invitation to step onto the boy's finger.

Glad that the raven sat onto his finger without hesitating, Harry carried him over to his desk. "Are you feeling even a bit better?" he asked, doubtfully, as the raven let out a series of cough-like sounds and ruffled his feathers in an attempt to get warm. "Probably not. Your feet are as hot as they were before. Maybe we should try Pepperup potion."

Severus observed with a mixture of surprise, anger, and relief as Harry opened a wooden box that was filled with potions phials. He excitedly slid from Harry's finger onto the table, trying to get a good look at the phials.

"What do you think you're doing, birdie?" Harry asked in confusion when a thought crossed his mind. He gently lifted the raven back onto his finger, giving him a sharp look. "Are you really a raven? Or are you just a raven Animagus? You seem too intelligent to just be a bird."

_

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tbc..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. Chapter 2

**Caring for a Raven – Chapter 2**

'_Oh no! What am I going to do now_?' Severus mused, terrified. '_I can't transform back yet, but I don't want Potter to know I'm the raven_.' On the other hand, he felt utterly ill and wanted nothing more than to get better as fast as possible.

He looked straight into the boy's green eyes and gave him a sharp nod, wincing at the pain the small movement caused.

"You're an Animagus?" Harry asked in disbelief, causing Severus to nod lightly.

"Are you a member the Order?"

The raven nodded lightly.

"From the colour of your eyes I'd guess Professor Snape?" Harry queried softly, groaning inwardly at the raven's nod.

"Very well. I want to help you, but I'm not sure how. Do you need Pepperup potion, or would you like to look at the potions I have here and choose what you need?" Feeling slightly uncomfortable to show his private potions stock to the professor, he added, "I brewed all these potions during the last school year, but you don't have to worry, sir, Hermione helped me and checked all of them. They're all right."

Noticing the raven was trying to pull his finger in the direction of the potions, Harry carefully placed him on the table and showed him each phial.

'_Thank God; that's probably what I need_,' Severus mused as he recognized the potion for the wizard's flu in one of the phials. He lightly knocked against the phial with his beak, throwing the boy an expectant look.

"You need the flu potion? Are you sure?" Harry asked worriedly, causing the raven to nod lightly.

"Well, that explains why I can't get your fever down," Harry mused aloud. "I'm sorry, but I don't have a spoon, and I'm not sure how much I can give you. I'll just use my finger like before, all right?"

'_Yes please_,' Severus thought, opening his beak to lick the potion from the boy's finger.

"Enough?" Harry queried, causing Severus to lightly shake his head.

They repeated the procedure, before Harry administered the fever reducer as well, noticing that the bird's feet cooled down a little.

Unable to keep his eyes open anymore, Severus relaxed on Harry's finger, against better knowledge, ruffling his feathers before he closed his eyes.

"It's all right to sleep, sir. I'll keep you here on my finger for a while, before I put you back in Hedwig's cage, so I can monitor your temperature," Harry said softly. "I'll give you another dose of the potions before I go to bed."

Severus slowly drifted off to sleep, while Harry set to work on his summer assignments, worriedly watching the bird on his finger cough, sneeze, and shiver from time to time. '_He seems to be very ill. I hope the potions will work. It'll surely take a few more days before his wing will be healed enough so he can try to transform back_,' he thought in concern.

Before Harry went to bed, he woke Severus up and gave him the next dose of his potions, before he placed him into Hedwig's cage for the night.

"I'm sorry, but I have to cover the cage again. I'm afraid in your raven form you wouldn't survive an encounter with my uncle," Harry explained regrettably. "Do you have the impression the potions work?" he asked, very concerned about leaving the sick teacher alone in the cage while he went to bed.

'_Yes, if I try not to think about who brewed them, I feel a bit better. They won't last as long as a whole dose you give to a human being though_,' Severus mused, slightly nodding his head.

"Thank God. I'll check on you again in a few hours," Harry said soothingly, but hurriedly covered the cage as the noise of the dozen locks at his door being unlocked sounded into the room. "Sorry," he whispered as he quickly sat down at his desk.

Severus heard the door being opened and a female voice hiss, "Bathroom!"

"Thank you, Aunt Petunia," Harry replied politely as he went to quickly use the bathroom.

Only minutes later, the sound of the locks being closed again penetrated the raven's ears, causing the teacher to muse if he was delirious for the second time that day.

However, during the night, things only seemed to become worse. Severus had only just drifted off to sleep when he woke up by Harry's shouting, "Sirius! No!" followed by several loud slaps against the door and Vernon's angry voice, "Shut up, you freak! How dare you wake us up?"

"I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon," Harry replied politely, sighing as waited until the Dursleys' bedroom door closed before he scrambled out of his bed and made his way over to Hedwig's cage. Gently lifting the cover, he saw the raven was awake and apologized again. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

'_This wouldn't have happened if you had tried to learn Occlumency_,' Severus thought but merely threw the boy a dull glance from his glassy eyes and unconsciously made a step in the direction of Harry's hands.

"You want me to take you out again?" Harry whispered, noticing that the bird's feet were very hot and the raven was shivering violently as he took him onto his finger. "Maybe I should take you to bed with me and keep you warm," he mused aloud, glancing at his alarm clock. "It's three hours since I gave you the potions. Do you think it's too early for the next dose?"

Severus lightly shook his head, and Harry administered the next dose of potions to the bird, before he lay down on his bed, placing the raven on his chest. "Don't worry, I'm not going to sleep again tonight," he explained in a soothing voice. "Make yourself comfortable."

Feeling hot and cold at the same time, Severus was glad to have the body contact but couldn't decide if he wanted to sit on a hot or a cold spot. He took a few steps and rested in the boy's armpit for a while, before he felt too hot and took a seat on Harry's chest, only to return to the armpit a few minutes later.

"You're feeling absolutely horrible, aren't you?" Harry whispered, observing the heavily breathing and sniffing raven in concern. "Maybe you should drink some water." He carefully reached out for the glass of water he had brought from the bathroom and placed on his night table earlier, holding the glass in front of the raven, who greedily took a few sips.

"Slowly, birdie," Harry admonished him lightly, feeling slightly relieved when the bird seemed to relax a little after drinking a huge amount of water.

'_That was good_,' Severus mused, '_I should have thought of drinking something earlier. I hope this is just the peak of the flu and will be better tomorrow. I can't keep the boy from his sleep all the time_.' With that, Severus slowly drifted off in a light slumber, feeling uncomfortable, as he couldn't bring himself in his proper sleeping position with his head on his back due to his broken wing that was wrapped in a thick layer of gauze.

Harry watched the raven sleep, worriedly feeling the bird's feet every now and then. '_If I only knew what I could do to make him feel better_,' he mused as he put both hands to his head and slowly massaged his temples in an attempt to get rid of the headache that had begun to bother him earlier. '_Maybe I caught a cold after spending days out in this everlasting rain_,' he thought.

Shortly before it was time for his aunt to get up and order him to make breakfast, Harry woke Severus up, noticing from the temperature of his feet that his potions were wearing off anyway. He gave him the next dose of everything, renewed the gauze on his wing, and placed him into the cage, soothingly whispering to the bird the whole time.

"I'm sorry, but I have to put you back in here, because my aunt might come in shortly," he apologized in a small voice.

Severus gave him a short nod in understanding, grateful as he felt the potions take effect.

Only a few minutes later, Petunia opened the door and ordered Harry to make breakfast.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry replied and waited a short while until his aunt's footsteps had vanished, before he stood next to Hedwig's cage and whispered, "I might be away for a while doing chores in the garden, but I'll come back every three hours, since your potions seem to wear off by then." With that, he hurried downstairs to make breakfast.

Severus sighed as he pondered his situation. '_Of course I happen to get so ill with a broken wing on top of the wizard's flu when I'm in my raven form and together with Potter without a way to escape. And the worst of all is he knows I'm the raven. I can be lucky he didn't throw me out or leave me outside in the first place. I probably wouldn't have made it through the night. During all these years, I must have a completely wrong impression of Harry Potter. Apart from his outer appearance, the boy has nothing from his father. He behaves exactly like Lily_.'

Severus carefully tried to move his injured wing just a little bit, regretting the small movement immediately. '_Would Poppy be able to mend a broken wing just with a spell?' _he mused, uncertain about his colleague's competency concerning birds._ 'I only know that Hagrid sometimes looks after owls with broken wings, and I'm quite sure I heard it took a week to heal. Oh well, I have to be patient. I just hope the wizard's flu won't take as long_.'

Like on the day before, Harry returned to his room to look after his patient every few hours, noticing that the raven's feet seemed cooler and he was more alert during the day. However, in the evening, the bird's condition worsened again.

This time, Harry had worked very hard and somehow managed to finish all of his chores, but by the time he returned to his room after making dinner, he felt all over sore and was sneezing and coughing continuously. He quickly changed into his pyjamas, eager to get out of his soaked clothes and gulped down a dose of Pepperup potion, before he stepped to Hedwig's cage, from where the raven was silently observing him.

"Hi there, how are you feeling?" he queried softly, allowing the bird to step on his finger as usual.

'_I'd feel better if I knew you were taking better care of yourself_,' Severus thought in concern. '_I won't be able to help you if you get ill, and if your aunt comes in every now and then to keep you in bed because you're sick, you won't be able to help me either_.'

"Are you feeling worse?" Harry asked in concern as the raven didn't show any reply to his earlier question, causing Severus to lightly shake his head, before he gave him a reproachful glare.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, confused. "Are you angry at me? Did I do something wrong? Oh, I wish you could tell me what I can do to help you. Can't you use Legilimency on me, sir?"

Severus shook his head. '_No, I can't do any magic in my Animagus form_,' he thought, sighing as he used his right foot to scratch his achy head. '_I wonder if I added a light concussion to my ailments when I fell onto the ground yesterday_.'

"Does your head hurt?" Harry queried, and seeing the raven nod, continued, "I believe it's time for your potions anyway. Shall we bathe your wing first, or do you want your potions first?"

'_Just go on with whatever you think_,' Severus thought, but unnerved by the splitting headache pointed his head in the directions of the potions box.

"Today, I brought a small spoon with me," Harry whispered, spooning a small amount of the pain relieving potion into the raven's beak, followed by the flu potion and the fever reducer.

"Better?" he asked softly, gently stroking the bird's head feathers, noticing that the raven relaxed under his hand.

'_Feels good, but I must be delirious, allowing Potter to pet me_,' Severus thought, worriedly looking up as Harry let out a few harsh coughs.

"I'm sorry, it's all right. I just have a bit of a cold," Harry apologized, causing Severus to throw him a knowing look.

'_You should go to bed_,' Severus thought, pointedly turning his head to look at the bed.

"I should wait until they let me out to use the bathroom to brush my teeth, but I have too much a headache to study tonight," Harry thought aloud, before he turned to the raven. "I have to sleep for a while, at least until I wake up from the nightmare again. Do you want to stay in the cage while I'm asleep, or shall I take you with me? I hope I won't move too much in my dream."

'_I don't mind, but maybe I can wake you up before your uncle comes and kills you_,' Severus thought, pointing his head towards the bed, knowing he would be able to do a few small jumps if the boy moved too violently. '_It's my fault too that he didn't learn Occlumency_,' he mused, '_because I let my hate towards his father take control over our lessons_.'

Severus woke up when Harry began to thrash around. Knowing the boy was having a nightmare and was likely to cry out again, he gently nipped the boy's finger, causing Harry to jerk awake.

"Huh? Oh, um... sorry," Harry breathed, letting out a few coughs. "Thanks for waking me up before my uncle woke up," he whispered. "Sorry for waking you. How are you feeling?" He worriedly felt the raven's feet, noticing in relief that they weren't as hot anymore as during the night before.

"Your fever seems to have broken," he whispered, causing the raven to shake his head in annoyance.

'_It hasn't, but your hands are warm due to your elevated temperature_,' Severus thought, annoyed to not be able to properly communicate with the dunderhead.

Harry quickly fed the raven a spoonful of each of his potions, glad he had been thoughtful enough to place them on his night table when he went to bed earlier.

'_You should take a fever reducer too_,' Severus tried to communicate to the boy by trying to make signs with his head and eye movements, but the boy didn't understand what he meant.

Suddenly feeling very dizzy, Harry closed his eyes and slowly drifted back to sleep, not noticing that the raven threw him a concerned look, taking in the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

HP

In the morning, Harry managed just in time to put the raven back into Hedwig's cage, before Petunia entered the room, thrusting a list of chores at him. "Vernon, Dudley, and I are going on a trip. We'll be back in two weeks, and I expect all of the chores to be finished by then."

"All right, Aunt Petunia," Harry replied, shocked at how hoarse his voice sounded.

_

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tbc... _

_Thank you for your kind reviews that made me post the second chapter so fast. The story is alredy finished and will have four chapters. _

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Chapter 3

**Caring for a Raven – Chapter 3**

"Are you ill?" Petunia queried.

"I probably caught a cold," Harry croaked.

"Oh well, then it's good we're leaving in five minutes; wouldn't want to catch anything from you." With that, Petunia left the room, causing Severus to let out an angry growl, which unfortunately came out as a coughing fit.

'_She has nothing in common with Lily_,' he thought angrily.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked worriedly, taking him back out of the cage.

'_Yes, I am_,' Severus thought, nodding, '_but you aren't_.' He looked at the boy's face, noticing that his cheeks were feverishly flushed, and motioned him with his eyes to follow his look.

Slowly getting used to the bird's antics, Harry sensed the raven wanted him to take him somewhere and slowly carried him towards the door and out into the hall.

"Where is it you want to go?" he whispered, and followed the bird's eyes' movement into the bathroom.

Severus made the boy open the closet and examined the contents closely until he found what he was looking for. Making Harry extend his arm to the closet by leaning off his arm, he stepped onto a shelf and opened his beak, carefully picking up a Muggle thermometer, which he let fall into the boy's hand, before he stepped back on his finger.

"Are you finished here?" Harry queried, looking surprised from the thermometer to the bird.

The raven shook his head and made Harry move his arm towards another shelf that was filled with towels. Pulling a small towel out with his beak, he shoved it into Harry's hand as he made himself comfortable on his arm.

Harry realised that he was feeling horrible and wanted nothing more than to return to his bed and rest for a while before he had to get a head start on his chores. However, Severus wasn't finished yet. He made Harry take a small bowl filled with cold water with him and motioned him back into his room. Putting the thermometer and the towel on his night table and the bowl next to his bed, wondering how he could help the raven using these things, he lay down on his bed, laying his left hand on his chest for the raven to get off his hand.

'_What do you think you're doing, you imbecile_?' Severus mused, glaring at the boy.

"I'm sorry, I just don't feel so well. Let me rest for a few minutes, and then I'll try to do what you want me to do," Harry told him, closing his eyes for a short while.

After a few minutes, he felt slightly better. "I'm sorry, what can I do for you? Do you think I can take your temperature with that?" he asked, pointing to the thermometer. "Under your wings or where?"

'_Of course not mine. I don't know how to take that, but yours, you dunderhead_,' Severus replied, throwing the boy a menacing glare as he forcefully turned his head towards the boy, wincing immediately at the additional pain.

"Be careful; don't move your head so forcefully. You know it hurts," Harry said softly.

'_I know_,' Severus thought miserably, sighing in exasperation. He slowly stepped down to the edge of the bed, reaching for the thermometer with his beak and thrust it into the boy's hand, once more moving his head towards Harry.

"You want me to take MY temperature?" Harry asked in surprise, causing Severus to nod in relief.

'_Finally_!'

"No, I'm fine. As I told you I just have a cold, but it's not so bad, Harry replied lightly, cringing under the glare he received from the raven. "Fine," Harry sighed, switched the thermometer on, and placed it under his tongue, shooting the raven a completely annoyed glare as a violent shiver shook his body at the icy cold feeling of the glassy thing in his mouth.

Severus settled down on Harry's left shoulder, watching in concern as the numbers on the digital display increased, until it finally stopped and let out a beeping sound.

"Thirty-nine point two," Harry informed him. "Happy now?"

'_No_.' Severus shook his head. '_Now please take a fever reducer and the flu potion without making me force you. I'm knackered_.'

"All right. Let me give you the next dose of potions. I'll take a fever reducer as well, and then I'll head to the garden for a few hours," Harry decided and fed the raven his potions.

Making sure Harry took three spoonfuls of the fever reducer, Severus finally allowed Harry to look after his wing.

"As you know I don't know anything about birds, but I have the impression as if your wing was healing nicely," Harry said thoughtfully, closely examining the wing, before he gently bathed it in Murtlap Essence.

'_Feels good_,' Severus thought, sighing in relief.

As Harry gently dried the wing with a soft towel and finally wrapped it in gauze, he threw the bird a piercing look. "It's now three days since you broke your wing and came down with the flu. Do you feel any better at all?"

'_Yes, my wing feels a bit better I think, and my throat isn't as sore as it was anymore. But my head hurts as much as before, and I still feel feverish_,' Severus replied to himself, before he lightly nodded his head.

'_Hmmm, that wasn't too convincing_,' Harry realised. "What exactly is better? Your wing? Don't nod if it hurts, just blink once for yes and twice for no," he added quickly, not wanting to cause the bird unnecessary pain.

Severus blinked once.

"Very well, and your headache?"

Two blinks.

"Your fever?"

Three blinks.

"Your coughing and sneezing seems a bit less than yesterday, but I guess you're not sure about the fever," Harry said thoughtfully.

Severus blinked once.

"Do you have any idea, what I could do to help you?"

Two blinks.

Harry sighed. "Do we just have to wait until your wing is well enough so you can transform back?"

Severus blinked once. '_Unfortunately, yes, but thanks for your concern. I really appreciate it_.'

"I have to do my chores," Harry decided, "so I'm going to leave you alone for a short while. Where do you want to stay? In the cage, on the bed, or on the table?"

Severus rolled his eyes and stepped from Harry's hand onto the table, taking Harry's quill in his beak, carefully adjusting it to the empty parchment. 'YOU – BED' he wrote in untrained, but somehow readable letters.

"Wow, you did that really well," Harry commended the professor in total amazement, before the meaning of the words penetrated his foggy mind. "No, I'm fine, and I have to do my chores, if I still want to be alive when the new school year begins." With that, he stood up from his chair, leaving the raven on the table. He fetched the glass of water from the night table as well as a small bowl of owl treats, knowing from experience that the Dursleys hadn't left any food for him, leaving both on the desk for Severus, and headed to the door when a thought crossed his mind.

"I know what I'm going to do. If your headache is bothering you so much, I'm going to brew a headache potion. Since the Dursleys are away, I can use the kitchen. I can take you with me so you can watch if you don't trust me." With that, he pulled his cauldron and his ingredients out of the wardrobe and skimmed his fourth-year book for the headache potion.

Severus sighed, taking the quill in his beak again. '392,' he scribbled on the parchment.

"Page 392?" Harry queried, opening the page. "Potion for concussion," he read in surprise. "You think you have a concussion from your fall the other day?"

Severus blinked once.

"Oh well, that makes sense." Harry quickly skimmed the recipe, confirming he had all the ingredients, and asked, "Do you want to come?"

The raven stepped on his finger, throwing Harry a doubtful look. During the next hour, Severus watched from Harry's shoulder how the boy professionally brewed the potion for him. He observed his every move, remaining close to his cheek, so he could pinch him in time if he was going to make a mistake.

'_No, you imbecile_,' he thought once and was just about to pinch the boy when Harry noticed right in time he had to stir counter clockwise and corrected himself.

'_Don't give me a heart attack_,' Severus mused, trying to relax.

However, only a few minutes later, Harry suddenly turned away from the cauldron in a fast movement, only to let out a few forceful sneezes.

'_Don't frighten me like that_,' Severus thought, sighing in relief as Harry finally bottled a flawless potion.

Harry took a spoon and immediately offered a spoonful to the raven. "I hope it'll help with your headache. If you really have a concussion, you should better rest than sit on my shoulder, so I'll take you back into my room now, before I'm going to clean up here," he said hoarsely, taking the phials and a clean spoon with him. Gently placing the raven into Hedwig's cage, he returned to the kitchen to clean up, feeling utterly exhausted and ill by the time he returned to his room.

Seeing the raven seemed to be peacefully asleep, Harry couldn't resist the urge to lie down for a while, drifting off into a light slumber. A coughing fit brought him back to reality, and Harry scrambled out of bed, stepping over to the cage, seeing the raven had woken up too.

"I'm sorry for waking you," he whispered, glancing back at his alarm clock. "It's probably time for your potions anyway though."

'_Probably_,' Severus agreed, blinking once.

Harry gently fed the bird his potions and placed him back into the cage. "I have to go and begin with my chores."

Two blinks.

"Sorry, but I have to. Do you want to stay in the cage?"

One blink.

"All right. I'll be back in two hours at the latest," he promised as he slowly dragged himself out of the room.

'_Stupid boy_,' Severus thought angrily. '_How can he go out to work in the garden with the fever he's spiking, let alone in that weather_?'

When Harry returned to his room two hours later, he looked worse for wear. However, he turned to the cage to look after the raven right away, causing Severus to groan. The raven stepped onto the boy's hand and pulled at his wet T-shirt, throwing Harry a murderous glare.

"I know, I have to change," Harry understood and placed Severus on the table, before he dragged himself into the bathroom to change into his pyjama bottom and a dry T-shirt.

'_I hope he only caught the flu from me and doesn't have a cold turned into pneumonia_,' Severus mused worriedly as he observed Harry lie down on his bed in exhaustion, breathing heavily.

_

* * *

tbc..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Chapter 4

**Caring for a Raven – Chapter 4**

During the following two days, Harry and the raven remained on Harry's bed, napping until Harry's nightmares or coughs woke them up. Once awake, Harry fed Severus his potions, before Severus made him check his temperature and take his potions, before they both went to sleep again. Severus registered worriedly that neither his headache nor the boy's fever began to recede.

On the third day, Severus noticed his wing seemed to be nearly back to normal. '_It doesn't hurt anymore_,' he thought, carefully trying to flap his wings.

"Does it still hurt?" Harry croaked worriedly as he observed the raven in concern.

Severus blinked twice.

"Oh, that's good," Harry said, sighing in relief. "Nevertheless, I don't think you should transform back yet, if your headache isn't better at all."

Severus took to the air and flew to Harry's bed and back to the table. '_You're completely right, Potter, but considering that the potion for the concussion will work much better if I'm in my human form and that I'll be able to brew the pneumonia potion for you, which you'll probably need since the flu potion doesn't work, I will try to transform no_w.'

He took the quill into his beak, which he had used a few times to give Harry orders concerning the boy's health, and wrote, 'STAY HERE.'

"All right. Are you going to transform?" he asked, alarmed. "Are you sure you won't aggravate your condition?"

Severus blinked once and flew over to the bed, where he slowly transformed, noticing that his head exploded in pain. He gripped his head with both hands and couldn't prevent himself from letting out a small moan.

Harry quickly took a small phial of the potion for the concussion and pressed it against the professor's lips. "Here, Professor, drink," he said hoarsely, glad when the man complied and slightly relaxed.

"Thank you, Potter," Severus breathed and tried to get up to let Harry lie down, but he couldn't muster the energy and drifted off into an exhausted sleep.

'_Well, sleep is probably the best in his condition_,' Harry thought. However, feeling too unwell to stay up any longer, he pulled a second blanket out of the wardrobe, pulled his warm Weasley jumper over his pyjamas, and lay down on the blanket on the floor.

A short while later, both wizards were pulled out of their sleep by Harry's coughing. Severus sat up and took off his robes, revealing black trousers and a dark green turtleneck shirt underneath. He pulled his wand out of his robe pocket and waved it at Harry, transfiguring the blanket into a most comfortable bed, before he sank back in exhaustion.

Harry worriedly dragged himself out of the bed and sat on the edge of his own bed. "Professor, how are you feeling? Do you feel any pain where your wing was before?" he croaked.

Realising that the student's face still held the same concern it had when he was in his raven form, Severus slowly moved his left arm, before he replied, "No. My arm feels a bit stiff, probably because I didn't use it for a week, but it doesn't hurt."

"That's good," Harry said relieved, "but you have a terrible headache, don't you?"

"Yes," Severus grudgingly admitted, glad he could speak again.

"I want to take your temperature," Harry decided and popped the thermometer under Severus' tongue, ignoring his annoyed groan.

While they were waiting for the reading to be finished, Harry wetted the towel on his night table and gently adjusted it to the professor's forehead.

The thought, '_I should be the one to look after him_,' crossed Severus' mind as he observed a violent shiver shake the boy at the touch of the cool towel.

"Thirty-nine point eight," Harry announced, giving his patient a sharp look. "Isn't that a bit high for a concussion, sir? Are you sure the wizard's flu is completely gone?"

"No, you're right. I'll take the flu potion and a fever reducer too. However, I want to see you in bed, so I can check on you." Severus sat up and pulled Harry down onto the bed. "Stay put. I'll take the other bed," he instructed him, before cleaning the thermometer with a flick of his wand and sticking the icy thing into the boy's mouth. He stood up and quickly gulped down the potions, noticing in relief that they worked as if he had brewed them by himself.

"Gi go," Harry mumbled around the thermometer, causing the professor to throw him a menacing glare.

"Your fever is still over forty degrees. This means the flu potion doesn't work," Severus said thoughtfully as he gently took the thermometer from Harry's lips. "I'm afraid your cold turned into pneumonia, but I can't brew the potion here, because I don't have the necessary ingredients. I'll go and contact the Headmaster from Arabella Figg's house. He has to help us."

"Professor, you can't go right now. Please stay in bed for at least a day until your concussion is better," Harry croaked, unconsciously holding the teacher's arm in a fierce grip.

Knowing that he was in no condition to walk until the old lady's house, Severus complied and lay down. It didn't take long, until he succumbed to the potions' effects and drifted off to a much needed healing sleep.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In spite of feeling absolutely horrible, Harry decided to resume his garden work. He somehow had lost track of time, and the prospect of his uncle coming back before he had finished his chores was too dreadful to ignore. He slowly dragged himself downstairs and out the backdoor, when he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of a grey cat sitting on the small wall.

'_McGonagall_!' his mind screamed. '_She'll be able to help us_.'

Harry slowly walked over to the wall, stopping in front of the animal. "Professor McGonagall?" he queried, putting a hand on the wall to steady himself. "If it's you, professor, could you nod or give me a sign please? We need help."

The cat nodded her head, before she jumped from the wall and headed to the backdoor. Harry wearily followed her inside the kitchen and sank on a chair as the teacher transformed into her human form.

"Harry, are you ill?" she asked in concern, laying an ice-cold hand on his forehead.

"Yes, and Professor Snape too," Harry croaked. "He has a concussion and the wizard's flu. Let me take you to him, Professor." Harry led his Head of House upstairs, glad that she kindly steadied him and helped him back into bed.

McGonagall woke Severus and spoke with him for a few minutes, before she stood up in determination. "I have an emergency Portkey, but with a concussion, Severus, you're not able to use it. I'll go and fetch Madam Pomfrey, so she can decide what is best for both of you. I also have to ask Albus if we may take Mr. Potter from here already."

"Minerva!" Severus protested, struggling to sit up.

However, his colleague gently pushed him back down, worriedly taking in Harry's difficulties of breathing as she activated her Portkey. Two minutes later, she was back together with Madam Pomfrey, who began immediately to wave her wand at the two sick wizards.

"Minerva, Severus has a second degree concussion, a lingering case of the wizard's flu, and a high fever. Mr. Potter has pneumonia. I need to take them with me; however, we can't transport Severus by Portkey. We need to take the Knight Bus."

McGonagall threw her colleague and her student a worried glance, noticing that both had succumbed to the potions Poppy had spelled into their systems and were fast asleep.

The Mediwitch conjured two stretchers and floated the two wizards down to the entrance door, while McGonagall called the Knight Bus.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

When Harry's mind slowly returned to awareness, he noticed that he was lying in a bed in the crispy white hospital wing, that the everlasting rain had been replaced by blazing sunshine, that his left arm was connected to an I.V., from which a potion was slowly dripping into his arm, and that the Potions professor was lying in the bed next to him, engaged in a heated discussion with the Headmaster.

"Mr. Potter can't go back to his relatives, even after his recovery. They abuse and neglect him. I witnessed his uncle beat him, and I heard his aunt say she was glad to go on holidays so she couldn't catch whatever was ailing him as she noticed he was ill. I'm willing to gain the temporary guardianship over him if necessary."

"I believe that's a very good idea, Severus," McGonagall threw in gently as she stepped around Severus' bed to sit down on the edge of Harry's, worriedly looking at him. "Harry, would you like to stay with Professor Snape over the rest of the holidays?"

"Yes please," Harry whispered, gratefully looking from his glassy green eyes straight into the familiar onyx eyes of the professor turned raven that returned a comforting single blink.

"Very well, my boys," the Headmaster agreed with a contented twinkle in his eyes as he stepped aside to make space for Madam Pomfrey, who came to check on her patients. "I'm sure it'll be the best for both of you."

**The End**

_

* * *

I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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